July 31 wrap: Special Olympics Team Canada’s first-ever World Games golf medals lead exciting day

On the second-last day of competition at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Team Canada earned its first-ever World Games medals in golf and took the overall medal total to 126 (63 gold, 41 silver, 22 bronze).

These World Games mark the first time Special Olympics Team Canada has included golf, basketball, and bocce athletes, and the Canadian golfers served notice on the Harding Course that our country has game.

Danny Peaslee of Manitoba and Tess Trojan of Ontario both won gold in Level 4 nine-hole golf, while Ontario’s Lorrine Russell finished second to Trojan and Kyle Grummett of B.C. captured bronze as the team’s Level 5 golfer playing 18 holes.

Peaslee golfed neck and neck the whole four rounds with Andrew White of Special Olympics South Africa. In the last round, Peaslee shot a 36 to beat out his South African competition by just one stroke to win the 2015 Special Olympics World Games gold medal.

Ontario’s Kyle Koopman finished fourth by one stroke in Level 4 play – he had been eight strokes out of bronze going into the fourth and final round, and he made up seven strokes today, but ultimately could not make that last step onto the podium. His coaches were blown away by his comeback.

All five players had their best round of the Games in today’s final day of competition.

Also on July 31, it was the second day of powerlifting competition for Special Olympics Team Canada athletes. Ontario’s André Goulet and Paul Perreault competed in the same division and were the class of the field together. Goulet won three gold medals (dead lift, squat, and combination) and one silver (bench press) while Perreault won three silver and one bronze (same events as Goulet).

Goulet lifted a personal best in squat at 202.5 kg and tied his PB in the other two events – 210 kg dead lift and 125 kg bench press. Perreault lifted a PB of 110 kg in his bench press and tied his PB of 190 kg in the dead lift; in squat he lifted 170 kg.

“They both had a great day,” Team Canada powerlifting Head Coach Ross McIntosh said.

Being a world champion feels “tremendous,” Goulet said. “The best thing in my life.”

Team Canada athletics earned 12 medals in a day full of finals, including the thrilling men’s 100-metre sprint that saw Robert Pipitone of Ontario and Gabriel Dupuy of Quebec finish 1-2 in their division. Pipitone blasted across the finish line in 11.22 seconds and Dupuy in 11.56s.

Pipitone’s 100m time set a new record for Special Olympics World Games competition. Based on the compilation of best marks from the 1999-2011 World Games results list provided by Special Olympics Inc., 2015 World Games organizers highlighted Pipitone’s 11.22s time as the new men’s 100m standard.

Congratulations to all the track and field athletes in action yesterday:

In the 5,000m race, Audrey Vincent of Quebec won gold (her second of the World Games) and Mandy Manzardo of B.C. earned bronze. Darby McIntyre, pride of the Yukon, won gold while teammates Maxime Duguay and Olivier Lizotte of Quebec finished third and fourth.

Lindsay Kinnear of Saskatchewan had a great double-medal day in both track and field, winning gold in the 200m sprint and bronze in long jump. Marianne Scharf of Ontario also earned bronze in long jump.

Team Canada’s only pentathlete, Ryan Kneisz of Manitoba, has worked long and hard to reach the World Games, and it all paid off with his gold-medal win yesterday. He recorded personal bests in his high jump and 400m run en route to the top of the podium.

P.E.I.’s John Paynter raced to a strong fourth-place finish in his 100m division.

In the women’s 200m event, Catherine Partlow of Ontario earned her second gold medal of the World Games with a stellar sprint clear of all competitors. Cathy Smith of Ontario also shone in her division, winning gold by an easy margin, and Katie Saunders of Alberta gave a strong performance to capture fourth in her division.

Team Canada’s swimmers chipped in nine more medals in the 100m backstroke, 25m freestyle, and 100m breaststroke finals. Congratulations to these hardworking athletes:

In 100m breaststroke, Magnus Batara won gold with a time five seconds faster than his divisioning race, and Meagan Michie of Ontario won silver with a time 11 seconds faster than divisioning.

In 100m backstroke, Andrew Perez of Quebec won gold with a time two seconds faster than divisioning, while April Lam of Alberta and Matthew Hunter of Nova Scotia captured bronze.

The Team Canada women’s 4x50m medley relay team that competed earlier in the week also had a World Games best-in-record time in their event. April Lam of Alberta, Julia Longo and Meagan Michie of Ontario, and Kelsey Wyse of B.C. swam 2:48.61.

The 10-pin bowlers earned five medals in singles play and a strong sixth-place finish! Congratulations to gold-medal winners Austin Johnston of B.C. and Steven Beaucage of Quebec, silver medallists Jake Huff of B.C. and Jordon Miner of Ontario, bronze medallist Danny Ristic of Ontario, and Toufic Irani of Quebec who earned a sixth-place finish.

Team Canada basketball played a closely fought bronze-medal game against Belgium but ultimately came up just short, losing 39-33. Team Canada soccer also narrowly lost their bronze medal game 2-1. Stay tuned for full game reports to come on Sunday!

World Games competition concludes for Team Canada on Saturday, August 1. Powerlifter Jackie Barrett takes the stage to compete on Saturday afternoon, the Grizzlies softball team is playing the bronze-medal game in the morning, and bocce doubles players Margaret Burnell and Kevin Ellis are still in the hunt for medals in their division. Athletics and swimming wrap up with the last finals including exciting relays.